Trump voices support for Saudi leaders amid political purge

President Donald Trump said Monday he has "great confidence" in King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Arabian leaders whose regime carried out an apparent purge of royals, ministers and businessmen in recent days amid a political crackdown that has resulted in mass arrests.

"I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing," the president tweeted Tuesday while traveling in Asia as a part of his first diplomatic trip in the region.

Story Continued Below

The president added: "Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!"

Over the weekend bin Salman oversaw the arrest of 11 princes, including billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, in what the country's attorney general referred to as "phase one" of the regime's crackdown on political opponents.

The moves, which targeted royal political opponents within Salman's own family, are widely-seen as the latest step in the 32-year-old's attempt to consolidate power since King Salman, his father, took the throne in 2015.

The comments from Trump come just over a week after Jared Kushner, his senior adviser and son-in-law, took an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia, marking his third visit to the country this year.

The most reliable politics newsletter.

Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox.

Email

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Kushner, whose trip was not announced to the public, was accompanied by deputy national security adviser Dina Powell and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt.

Trump traveled to Saudia Arabia in September to meet with their political leaders. At the time, he expressed a more cooperative tone as president than he did as a candidate. During the 2016 campaign, Trump criticized the country for its human rights record and blasted Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, for accepting Saudi donations through the Clinton Foundation.